of Safed , where he died in 1580. He was a prolific halakhist who wrote innumerable responsa. The Mabit, the acronym by which he is known, received the following anonymous question:
May our Teacher instruct us: Reuven had made a vow that, if he accumulates a certain amount, he will live in Safed , and now the condition has been fulfilled. However, his father and mother are not allowing him to go there to settle. Furthermore, his wife refuses to live there and claims that it is written in their ketubah that he will not take her away to live in any other place. Honoring one’s father is a great mitzvah. Jacob our Father, of blessed memory, was punished twentytwo years[for leaving his parents]. Teach us, our Rabbi , if the vow is valid and binding or may he be released from it, and may your reward be doubled.’
This family dissonance results from a seemingly irreconcilable conflict between two Torah commandments: filial respect and aliyah to the Holy Land. If the son capitulates to his parents’ demand, he will be prevented from observing the precept of dwelling in the Land.’ If, in spite of their pleading, he does emigrate, it would appear that he Was disobeying the Fifth Commandment.
Following is the Mabit's creative responsum to the inquiry:
He neither has to fulfill his vow nor is he obligated to obey his father and mother, who told him not to go on aliyah, as it is taught:“If his parents told him to defile himself[where the son is a kohen]® or ordered him not to return a lost animal’ he does not obey them, for it is written:“Everyone shall fear his father and mother and
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